Food for Thought with Suzanne Dunaway

Asparagus with Dijon mustard vinaigrette

I adore asparagus, especially the wild ones I have planted in my garden.  Instead of saving enough for the spring omelet loved so in France, I can’t help myself and snap off the lovely fresh tops to eat raw as I go about my planting and harvesting.  But the perfect firm asparagus one buys at our open market are the ones for this dish.  I cut off only the tops that are tender, usually about 6-inches long, and I use the rest of the tender stems, just until the unchewable part starts, to slice thin and stir into risotto or omelets or frittate.

This vinaigrette was invented because my sister in law does not care for anchovies, and so I substituted Dijon mustard in the olive oil and lemon mix and came up with a winner.

food for thought asparagus



Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch fresh asparagus, about 6-inch tops only or wild ones if you can find enough!
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • Juice of large lemon
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • Optional: 3 anchovies

asparagus food for thought

Method

Steam the asparagus tops in salted water just until tender and green.  Rinse immediately under cold water to preserve the color.  Place in a serving bowl.

Mix all the ingredients with a whisk to make a smooth mixture and pour this over the asparagus, turning them once or twice before serving to coat each.  Serve tepid or cold but tepid is better.

asparagus food for thought

Meet the chef

P-O Life reader, Suzanne Dunaway, has cooked since she was 5 years old, when she made cinnamon pinwheels from her mother’s pastry dough.

She LOVES to cook. Some might say she LIVES to cook. The smells, the tastes, the textures…

She is a firm believer in simplicity and creates her recipes in the ethos of ‘anyone can cook’.

After years of experience in her own kitchen, cooking schools and private classes all over the world, in this weekly blog, Suzanne shares with us her PO-inspired creations.

With many strings to her bow, she is also an artist and columnist, with two published cookbooks.

Get a copy of her ‘No Need to Knead: Handmade Artisan Breads in 90 Minutes’ here  

Or her 5 star rated book ‘Rome, at Home: The Spirit of La Cucina Romana in Your Own Kitchen’ here

All content and recipes are copyright of Suzanne Dunaway.

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